In Walden and Resistance to Civil Government, Henry David Thoreau the author, uses the rhetorical strategies of personification, metaphor, and allusion/symbolism in the chapter “Conclusion” to describe what he learned from his experiment of living in Walden Pond. Thoreau’s main message of what he learned is to be undefined by what’s in front. Without the limits of conformity, humans have the capacity to achieve much greater and beautiful dreams and goals. Conformity is the boundary that doesn’t let individuals reach their great potential. Thoreau uses effective personification to imply the significance of following one’s dreams confidently.
Aside from writing, transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau spent a good amount of his life observing the environment around him. In the text, “Where I Lived and What I Lived For,” Thoreau describes the luxury of living isolated from obligations and responsibilities. He discusses his enjoyment of being able to live in peace without the disturbances of society and materialistic things. Thoreau’s use of pathos most effectively influences the audience through his extensive use of similes, imagery, and metaphors. Similes were a regular occurrence in “Where I Lived and What I Lived For.”
David Thoreau uses many different rhetorical strategies in his essay to make different connections to the reader's mind and imagination to get a clear point across. In his narrative, Walden, Thoreau uses many displays of figurative language and imagery to set the scene up for what he is trying to explain. Thoreau uses many different examples of figurative language, the biggest reason why I think he does this is because he wants to make his writing a little bit more expressive, and be able to make claims that will be interesting. “The hollow and lichen-covered apple trees, nawed by rabbits, showing what kind of neighbors I should have,” here Thoreau is explaining what his surroundings are like while he is in nature.
At this point in the narrative he tells readers about an experience he had while observing a woodchuck in the woods while on a walk. He then tells in detail how he wanted to eat this woodchuck in a brutal way. This thought process he was having while observing this animal brought him a better understanding that human beings still have a wild instinct inside of themselves. Which he respected the idea and acknowledged that these instincts still occurred within himself. This experience supported Thoreau belief that hunting/obtaining knowledge on nature was important at an early age.
Ariel Rosales August 09, 2023 AP English Johnson Walden Henry David Thoreau, in the novel “Walden” (1854), claimed that by simplifying one’s life one could gain a deeper connection with the world around them, finding the meaning of life. Supporting his desired message, the novel introduces imagery to allow the readers to gain a visual on what Thoreau experiences while living a self-reliant life. The author uses imagery to persuade the reader that decreasing distractions would allow one to live a simple and efficient life. Thoreau uses a condescending tone through logos delivering his view on decreasing needs in life to man and is trusted because he is a man who speaks from experiences leaving the reader trusting of him because he appears
For two years, he lives in the woods of Walden Pond, experiencing what life is beyond society. He believes that society is controlled and unfulfilling, as it sucks away a person’s potential to live his or her own life. In order to attain a better life, people work tirelessly for a dream so far out of reach, which defines conformity. Thoreau does not follow such a distasteful lifestyle, which proves his dissatisfaction for society and his will to resist the routine lifestyle. Instead, he is devoted to his own morals and is not easily persuaded by society’s temptations, such as the luxurious items advertised in poster boards during his visit to town.
The story “Walden” is about being an outdoorsy kind of person. Wanting to run into the woods and live on your own in a cabin near a pond. He likes to invite his friends over to his cabin and entertain them. He likes to go and explore nature and he what he mostly likes is to explore ponds and examine them to see how they are different and how they are alike.
Pond Scum, by Kathryn Schulz, is a critique on author Henry David Thoreau and his ideas on society and nature. Schulz uses anecdotes, strong word choice, and direct quotations to criticize Thoreau, and the ideas written in his novel Walden. Schulz starts her essay with a powerful anecdote about the tragic story of a group Irish immigrants who drowned at sea while trying to reach the United States. She then quotes a Massachusetts native who dispassionately claimed that the wreck was “beautiful”.
Thoreau at Walden Pond, comes to the conclusion that humans are capable of achieving freedom and greatness. In his essay, “Where I Lived and What I Live For” in “Walden”, Thoreau uses an antecedent to demonstrate the power of choice. Thoreau describes a well know story of an egg placed in an applewood tree, hatching into a bug “perchance by the heat of an urn” sixty years later (Line 241-242). Thoreau believes people have the freedom of ‘hatching’, or discovering truth despite their age. Thoreau uses extended metaphor to express his optimism for human potential.
It is easy to see how Thoreau was encapsulated by the simple mystique of the wilderness. Nevertheless, I sit motionless in a tree, a sleeping monster in my arms, waiting to tear through the soft spoken forest surrounding me. I am not saddened by the idea of disturbing the sanctuary because the thoughts filling the silence enshrouding me are instead
Henry David Thoreau especially supported the interaction between man and nature. With his experiment at Walden, he addresses a modern concept known as minimalism, focusing on the way one must supply for himself with his basic necessities. His intentions were not to isolate himself, but moreso to separate himself from a life dependent upon others. Through his actions, he is able to criticise society and many of their needs.
Walden Pond has never quite been the pristine, secluded wilderness Henry David Thoreau made it out to be in his book “Walden; or Life in the Woods.” The Fitchburg Railroad opened next to the pond the same month Thoreau moved in 1845 to the cabin in the woods owned by his friend Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Frederic Tudor harvested ice on the pond for export throughout Thoreau’s two years there. After Thoreau left, Walden Pond briefly was the site of an amusement park, and in the 1930s, it sometimes drew tens of thousands of visitors in a single day. Walden nonetheless instantly conjures idyllic images of solitude and natural beauty in the popular imagination.
Consequently, what Thoreau proposed was simplicity rejecting modern civilization to return to nature and let the individual to develop his/her highest possibilities. Thoreau not only made a critique of the modern society as Emerson did, but also he practiced his ideology: he experienced that life is better without crowd, luxuries and complexity. The transcendentalist poet spent two year close to nature. He lived at Walden Pond where he wrote entire journals recounting his experience. Thoreau is well known for his book “Walden” (1854).
Thoreau describes this Thoreau makes this equivalency unambiguously when he decides to compare the depth of the soul to the depth of the
Thoreau believed that people need time to find meaning in life. Many people are stuck in a life that they do not enjoy-the notorious nine to five. However, if people truly enjoyed the work they did, they would not dread the day ahead of them. Time is a precious gift that must not be wasted. By filling their lives with tasks and activities that they do not enjoy, people are wasting the time they are given.
